DISCLAIMER: The cases / examples on this blog have been anonymised to maintain confidentiality of patients. Cases have been acquired from various international hospitals and through other medical colleagues with the intention to teach through case examples.

Tuesday, 4 September 2007

I am happy to finally announce that after negotiations with the doctors from the Yokosuka American Navy Hospital, we have set up a monthly Conference for exchange of interesting cases with all cases and discussion to be done in English starting this month.

This will provide an excellent opportunity for the Residents of this hospital and the Navy Hospital to create presentations, learn more about how to present in English and then to discuss about the disease(s) and of course, having to answer to direct questions!

There will be an alternating exchange of interesting cases e.g. we will present to the navy hospital one month and the following month they will present to us and vice versa.

I think it will provide excitement to the Residents and it will be a unique situation where Japanese, American and British physicians can come together and have a discussion about history, physical, workup and therapeutics.

This will be a sort of mini-international conference between hospitals and it may well be unique in Japan especially as the whole time everyone will be discussing matters in English.

As a hospital, we are eagerly expanding our horizons and with such a combined conference being created, the junior and senior residents will have yet more exposure to international medical practices which will be a most valuable experience.

Although the training at this hospital can be busy, the flux of inpatients is so high that a junior doctor can easily see many common and rare conditions as the rare problems have usually been rejected by other local institutions.

The patients are the best teachers as one can mentally recall all manner of different patient situations rather than chapters in a book. Through high patient turnover the junior doctors soon become knowledgeable and experienced compared to other doctors of the same level in some other institutions.

It is hoped that in the future, this hospital will be one of the front leaders in Internal Medicine training which will continue to provide an International style system concentrating on reducing time and cost and maximising on efficiency on reaching the diagnosis and treating it promptly and of course, getting the patient home as soon as possible.

The ways of achieving such a level are for training history and physical, how to work up the patient and at the same time, having an open atmosphere for discussion and use of evidence rather than just accepted doctrine.

I think this is a definite achievable step and as a hospital many steps have already been taken towards that goal..... maybe you would like to help us achieve that goal as well.....!